Rwanda volleyball national team head coach Paulo De Tarso has acknowledged that his players have a room to improve if they are to hit the top and perform better in future continental competitions.
Rwanda finished in sixth place at the 2023 African Men&039;s Volleyball Championships that concluded Wednesday, September 13, in Cairo, Egypt, after losing the battle of the 5th place to Tunisia who won the match in three successive sets 25-17, 25-18 and 25-21 on Tuesday afternoon.
When De Tarso decided to snub a number of senior players and instead take a young team with him to Cairo for the continental volleyball tournament, he was targeting to instill confidence the players so they grow up with a winning spirit that could help them conquer African Volleyball in the future.
The team may not have performed impressively but the Brazilian is confident that they return to Kigali with a group of players with a winning mentality and hungrier for success.
"We have a young team. We need to work hard for the future and raise other young players. We have to improve from this year’s position," the Brazilian coach said.
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De Tarso is convinced that the team’s level of confidence has improved even if they have not finished among in the top four which was their main target when they departed Kigali for the tournament.
"We are trying to make sure that we build the strongest team in the future, I am happy we got some confidence and experience from this competition. Our focus is to play many games and competitions in order to continue to build a strong group of players," he noted.
During the games, Rwanda was among countries with most inexperienced squads in Cairo but De Tarso is positive that the team is returning with a couple of lessons and experience from competing with African elite volleyball nations.
The tactician in July signed a three-year deal that will see him coach Rwandan teams, men and women, until July 2026.
With the deal, the local volleyball governing body(FRVB) gave the Brazilian ample time to build youthful teams that could start challenging for continental trophies or even rule African Volleyball.
During his first test, he guided Rwanda reach the semifinals of the Women’s African Volleyball championship held in Yaoundé, Cameroon while he sees achievement in the men’s tournament beyond just a sixth-place finish.
"I am here for many years. The idea is to make the team perform better in the future. I am here to build a consistent team ready to finish as high as we possibly can," he told Times Sport.
Rwanda men’s team has now finished in sixth place for the fourth time in row after finishing in the same position in 2015, 2017, 2021.
During the 2021 edition which was held in Kigali, Rwanda was eliminated in the quarterfinals and finished in sixth place after losing to neighbours Uganda.